An armed splinter group intruded into territory controlled by the largest Mon political group and arrested two retired village officials last night.

On June 3 at 8 p.m. an armed Mon splinter group entered the Brigade No. 3 village, in territory controlled by the New Mon State Party (NMSP) south of Three Pagodas Pass near the Thai-Burma border, and arrested two former village officials.

According to eyewitnesses, 10 armed soldiers entered the village under the command of Nai Khin Maung. The two men arrested were: Nai Shwe Thaung, who was the former village headman of Brigade No.3 village, and a second retired official, Nai San Htain, who was the quarter headman of the village.

According to Nai Ba Tin, is part of the Three Pagoda’s Pass Administrative Committee in NMSP territory, the group arrested the two men, but it is still not clear why. He speculated that the arrest could have been a result of a long-standing personal feud.

“Brigade No. 3 is only one mile from the village. If the armed group commanded by Nai Khin Maung wanted to clarify something, they could just go to the NMSP Brigade No. 3,” said Nai Ba Tin. “It seems likely that since Nai Khin Maung arrested the two village headmen, it was because they had personal problems,” he added.

Nai Khin Maung, who leads activities in Brigade No. 3 village, is a former NMSP soldier and member of the Brigade No. 3 village militia. However he quit the village militia only five months ago.

According to the villagers, when the armed group arrested the two men, they fired four times in the air. The NMSP has been trying to
arrest this group since last night.

Though Nai Khin Maung led the group to make the arrests, the armed group is rumored to be under the control of Nai Shaung, who is a former MNLA Colonel. The group was officially dubbed as a splinter group in February 2009 by the NMSP.